In recent months, several institutions affiliated with the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance have published reports on their financial contributions to the production of Iranian films. The release of these reports, which include details of payments from the budgets of these institutions to various film productions over the past years, reveals the extensive financial support from the government budget for filmmaking, alongside special attention to certain filmmakers and specific themes. The Ministry of Culture has published these reports as part of its efforts to implement the law on the publication and free access to information.
So far, the Farabi Cinema Foundation, the Visual Media Institute, and the Center for the Development of Documentary and Experimental Cinema have officially released lists of their payments to various film productions. An examination of the total of these three lists shows that approximately 168 billion and 500 million tomans have been paid from the Ministry of Culture's budget for film production over at least the past decade. The scale of this figure can be compared to the 100 billion toman budget of the Cinema Organization in 2014 and the 150 billion toman budget of this organization in 2016. This announced figure, however, does not include payments made from the budgets of other institutions such as the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, the Islamic Propaganda Organization, the Tehran Municipality, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for film productions.
The first report of this kind was published by the Farabi Cinema Foundation at the end of 2017, detailing financial contributions from this institution between 2011 and 2017. According to this list, nearly 84 billion tomans were allocated to assist in the production of 329 films under titles such as facilities, partnership, production, and rights acquisition. The largest payment in this list was related to the historical religious film "Resurrection" directed by Ahmadreza Darvish, for which the Farabi Foundation paid over 10 billion tomans to acquire 35% ownership. The film, which narrates the events of Ashura, has not been publicly screened due to objections from some religious authorities regarding the portrayal of certain religious figures.
It has been said that this payment was made after unsuccessful attempts to screen the film and serves as a form of compensation for the expenses incurred. Meanwhile, its producers have mentioned investments from Shia individuals outside Iran. Based on the Farabi Foundation's list, the film "Ch" directed by Ebrahim Hatamikia, which tells the story of Mostafa Chamran and was made in 2013, received 6 billion and 100 million tomans, making it the second film with the highest financial assistance. Following this film, works with political themes and those about the Iran-Iraq War, such as "The Cypress Under Water," "The Emperor of Hell," and "The Villa People," received amounts exceeding 1 billion tomans.
The list does not include the budget allocated by military institutions, primarily the IRGC, to various films. This is particularly noteworthy given the increasing activity of the Owj Cinema Organization, which is affiliated with the IRGC, in film production in recent years. For instance, the producers of the war film "Tangeh Aboughrib," a significant Iranian film this year produced by Owj, stated that they spent over 5 billion tomans on its production. Thus, the substantial share of war themes in the budget for film production in Iran is evident.
These figures, when considering the 110 billion tomans budget for the religious film "Muhammad, Messenger of God" directed by Majid Majidi, increase the overall share of religion in Iranian cinematic productions. The producers of "Muhammad, Messenger of God" stated that their significant budget, which involved some globally recognized filmmakers, was sourced from the Foundation of the Oppressed.
Following the Farabi Foundation, a month ago, the Visual Media Institute, another subsidiary of the Ministry of Culture, published a list of its contributions to the production or purchase of video distribution rights for various Iranian films from 2009 to 2016. This list includes payments of over 60 billion tomans to 198 different films, which were made in various forms, including complete ownership, purchase of video rights, and participation in the production and distribution of films. Many films produced in recent years and even some from the past two decades are listed. Among the most significant is the payment of nearly 2 billion and 500 million tomans to the producer of "Berlin Minus 7" in 2010 as part of the production partnership.
Another notable aspect of this list is the payment of 2 billion and 700 million tomans to the controversial film "Gold Chains," which was made about the events of 2009. This film, directed by Abolqasem Talebi, was widely promoted as one of the spring 2012 releases, and at that time, its creator claimed that Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, had supported the making and production of this film.
Compensation for Censored Films
According to the published list from the Visual Media Institute, significant amounts have also been paid to the producers of some censored films from previous years, including "Report of a Celebration" by Ebrahim Hatamikia, "Bear" by Khosrow Masoumi, and "Lovely Trash" by Mohsen Amiryousefi, as compensation for ownership rights and distribution rights.
The highest amount was related to the film "Report of a Celebration" by Ebrahim Hatamikia, which received 853 million tomans for ownership rights. Additionally, the video rights for many films produced in the 1980s and 1990s have been repurchased from their producers. Among the producers whose films were repurchased are figures critical of the Ministry of Culture's performance.
The Strange Case of "Laleh"
The most recent list published regarding payments made by the Center for the Development of Documentary and Experimental Cinema indicates that over the past 12 years, this institution affiliated with the Ministry of Culture has paid nearly 24 billion and 500 million tomans to producers of 76 films.
According to the statistics announced, the unfinished film "Laleh" by Asadollah Niknejad received the most financial assistance from this government-affiliated center, amounting to 6 billion and 550 million tomans. The production of this film, about the life of Laleh Sediq, a champion racer in Iran, began with significant support from cultural managers during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency, but with the change of government, new managers at the Center for Development had disagreements with the director regarding ownership, leading to the suspension of the film's production.
The Most Expensive Films of Recent Years
The most expensive films of recent years in Iran include: - Muhammad, Messenger of God (Majid Majidi): 110 billion tomans - Resurrection (Ahmadreza Darvish): 10 billion tomans (based on Farabi Foundation statistics for 35% ownership) - The Time of Damascus (Ebrahim Hatamikia): 8 billion tomans - The Iranian House (Abolqasem Talebi): 7 billion tomans - Ch (Ebrahim Hatamikia): 6.5 billion tomans - Laleh (Asadollah Niknejad): 6.5 billion tomans - unfinished - Tangeh Aboughrib (Bahram Tavakoli): 5 billion tomans
Anti-American and Anti-Israel Themes
In the list released by the Center for the Development of Documentary and Experimental Cinema, significant amounts have been allocated to numerous films with anti-Israel and anti-American themes, almost all of which have had unsuccessful public screenings. In some cases, producers of these films were paid in dollars for productions in Lebanon and Syria. Among them is the film "A Meteor of Light" by Mohammadreza Eslamloo, made in 2013, which faced severe criticism during its screening at that year's Fajr Film Festival. Another significant payment was made for the completely unsuccessful film "Suffering and Ecstasy" by Jahangir Almasi, which received 1 billion and 400 million tomans in 2012. The well-known and controversial film "The Expulsions" directed by Masoud Dehnamaki also appears in this list, having received 182 million tomans in 2006. For the production of the second part of this film, funding was also allocated.